‘I am hungry for more success’ Chloe Kelly talks to Arseblog News and friends

On Thursday afternoon, Chloe Kelly sat down with Arseblog News, Hayters and Helen Jerome from the New Women’s Sports Magazine at the Sobha Realty Training Centre. The first three questions are from Arseblog News.

On whether the success of winning the Champions League and the Euros changed her mindset coming into this season…
I am feeling in a good place to have a whole season at this club now. Last season, having half a season made me hungry for more success at the club and with a preseason under my belt and a whole season ahead, I think it really excites me. I’m feeling really settled here. But I think it made me hungry for more success, having the taste of it in the league, in the cup competitions and the Champions League again. I think I came to a club with high ambitions that matched my own, it definitely excites me, but I know that what it takes to get there is a lot, so every day is an opportunity to put your best foot forward in trying to look for that silverware and leaving no stone unturned throughout the whole season.

On whether the squad have spoken about winning the league this season…
I think every competition that we’re part of, we want to win and that’s definitely the whole group from top to bottom. But I think for us, we don’t look too far ahead at the end picture. It’s within your first game, look to win your second game and the next game in front is the most important. So I think it’s not looking too far ahead because you can get caught up in that and with results as well, just like the weekend, of course, we went into that game looking to win and weren’t able to do so, but actually putting on a performance where we’re comfortable defensively and we want to use that as momentum going forward and try to be better for the next one. I think that’s really important instead of looking too far ahead at the end of the season and what that looks like, but for sure our goals are set high.

On lessons learned from the last time Arsenal played Aston Villa…
We know that they have threat and we know that they have a lot of talent within their squad like all teams in this league. No team is an easy game and I think that’s the greatness of our league that every game you have to be switched on for and you have to be ready for. We know last season away to Villa we could have been better and I think if you look at the league table last season, you do look at learnings from the games where you might have dropped points and it may have looked different towards the end of the season. It’s important learning from those drop points and making sure that you try to better that the following season and I think that’s what we look to do. We have been doing our homework on Aston Villa as they have so many great talents and being at our best in that game is really important and being switched on, but for sure learning from Renee and what she says and being on the training pitch excites me.

How the conversation around body image in women’s football has evolved in her time as a player…
I’ve never felt in a place where body image is something that I think about too much, but seeing previous teammates at clubs being in something called a ‘fat club’, I think that is really, as a woman, disappointing, and seeing your friends go from one extreme to the other. I think looking after your health, looking after your mental health is important.

So I think there’s been a lot of change from what I’ve seen in the growth of the game that has improved. Sometimes, there were things like ‘fat clubs’ and I think that was maybe not the right thing for us as women and how we take things. I think that just shows where we needed to take our game in terms of the professionalism and the people that are involved in our sports.

For young girls now it’s about making sure what they’re doing is right for their body to be an athlete and not to look good. I train to be in the best I can be on the pitch and not look good away from the pitch and I think that’s really important for me. Young girls can look at many of us look up to many of us in terms of what we do to train our bodies, but also it’s what’s right for you as a human being and what makes you happy and healthy. I’ve definitely been in teams where it’s been a fat club and it’s sad because I’ve seen my friends and my teammates lose so much weight and be so unhappy and be so obsessed and I think that really does affect your mental health.

On Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup Final between England and Canada…
I think they’ve won in my eyes in terms of inspiring so many of us, especially myself, I think they’ve been amazing to take their sport to another level. I think hosting a tournament is incredible and I hope now that it has now the backing at club level to take their game forwards. There’s so many special talents within their squad and I had the pleasure of watching them at Northampton.

I was really inspired by them and their story, so I’m hoping they also get another win in terms of winning the whole World Cup and I’ll be there at the stadium. I’m trying to get there after our game. We’re trying our best to get down to the game maybe a little late. (They kick off at 4pm at Twickenham).

I think for me, I want to support them in any possible way and I think women in sport support women in sport. So I think there’s a few of us trying to get down to the game, but for me, I think I’m really inspired for what they’ve done in this tournament and I’m hoping that they get the win at the weekend, I stayed in contact with quite a few of them after watching them in Northampton, so I’ve told Meg (Jones) she has to do a celebration for us!

On finishing 5th in this year’s Ballon D’Or…
I’m very grateful for the place that I was at and honoured to be amongst so many special talented players. I think for me, my job is to be the best I can be every day, for club and for country. I think with individual honours, you don’t look too too far, but very grateful for the position and to be in a room for so many talented footballers, past and present. It excites me. because I had half a season to do that and I think that makes me excited for having a full season here at Arsenal.

On whether players aim for individual awards…
If I win the Champions League, I’m absolutely buzzing and if I win the Euros, I’m absolutely buzzing. That’s that’s what you aim for, because without success with club or with country, I don’t think you have that. So I think you never aim for those individual ones and we’re very grateful for them, but I don’t think that’s always our aim- our aim is success with club and country and as much success you get there, you find those individual honours. But I’m very grateful for that but it’s not something that that I aim for as such. I am to be the best I can be every day with club and country and the next is, of course, the individual honours, but I don’t think is something that we fight for.

On Arsenal having four players in the Ballon D’Or top 10…
It’s great to be surrounded by so many talented players every day, learning from those players in training. I think it shows where the clubs are in terms of the talent within our squad and I think that’s exciting as well for what we can do as a club going forward. I think for me, if you have so many talented players in those rankings on the training pitch, you can really learn from those players and you can really fight for your position as well. It’s an honour, but also it’s an opportunity to learn from those players that I rank so highly.

On breaking Chelsea’s hegemony over the WSL title…
I don’t think it’s demoralising. I think they are great team that have had success and we want to go and do that, we want to win trophies here at Arsenal and that’s where I our eyes are set. Being able to win the Champions League, I think that’s obviously a huge one for us, but the league campaign now, we want to set our sights high and we want to go for the win for that, but I think it’s a credit to what they’ve done there at Chelsea, but we’ve also won the Champions League.

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